Maximum Ride: School’s Out — Forever

It’s hard not to like James Patterson’s easy-to-read, fast-paced Maximum Ride series. He keeps the chapters short, and you find yourself turning the pages at a fast rate, keeping in line with the novel’s pace.

Since I’ve just come off a streak of reading nonfiction books about genetic engineering, Patterson’s pageturner was a relief.

Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel are back for a second round of action, running from Erasers, outsmarting the whitecoats. The six genetically engineered bird kids and their talking dog, Total, pick up where the last round left off. They have information that might lead them to their parents. Max’s Voice is driving her crazy. And, they’re going to school (the real kind).

Ari, the genetically engineered Eraser (half-wolf, half-human), finally shows his human side. This was the one thing the first book, The Angel Experiment, was lacking. We see that he is not just a monster, but he has retained his human feelings after all of his alterations. But, we are also reminded that he is 7-year-old boy beneath that grown exterior.

Most of the story is told through the eyes of Max. She becomes jealous of the FBI agent who takes them in and plays the mother role to the kids for a while. She becomes jealous, or at least mad, at the girl who kisses Fang at school.

Patterson focuses on character development throughout most of the book. Nothing happens that actually moves the story along, and I was left wanting a little more. It felt like the major storyline left off in the same place that it began.

It’s hard not to like the action. Not to like the easy-flowing style. The characters that you come to love.

Overall, it’s not a bad addition to the series. I hope he answers some of the big questions in the next book though. Otherwise, the series will probably lose its appeal.

Not to end on a bad note, because I did enjoy reading School’s Out — Forever, I want to say that you should definitely read this series if you’re looking for something a little lighter and want to have fun.

9 Responses

I’ve seen quite a bit on this series recently and it seems to be along the lines of “A Wrinkle in Time.” I wonder how they’d compare. I think I saw the latter on your “yet to read” list, but it seems your site’s the one to ponder such a thing on – perhaps another commenter has the answer or I’m mistaken and you, Justin, know the answer. Thanks for the space to ask.

My sister gave me A Wrinkle In Time last year, but I haven’t had a chance to read it. I don’t know what the story’s about though. I’ll have to read the back of the book sometime to get an idea.

James Patterson is just a nice break for me. It’s such a light read that you could finish it in a couple of readings. With some of the stuff I read in school, he’s definitely a welcome break from those readings.

I’ve now read the back of my version and the Amazon editorial preview. They don’t think they’re alike, but I could be wrong. Maybe they’re alike in that they’re science fiction-like but not necessarily science fiction.

Sure you could do a review at Books In Bed. You can send me an email at greenshady@hotmail.com so I can let you know how to set it up. Or, if you don’t want to write a full review, you can simply post about it on the forums.

I’ve read “A Winkle in time” and the “Maximum Ride” series and find them bother equally injoyable though i believe “A Wrinkle in Time” is not as repetitive and has more of a mystery behind it. Either way thats just my opinion and recomend both.

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